Direct User Switching

Change Log

Version 1.7

Added support for Windows 10. Changes have been made such that
the popup dialog now dismisses higher priority windows (like
Cortana, the start menu and notification panel) rather than
being obscured by them. Also disconnecting a session that was
logged on with a blank password no longer reconnects
automatically.

Windows Live accounts now display the email address rather than
the local user name (that is generated automatically). The SID
used for storing the password has been changed to the Internet
SID from the local SID. This means the saved password will work
across multiple machines when roaming profiles are in use.

Changed the way the popup is launched under Windows 8/8.1 such
that it does not cause Windows explorer Alt+Tab to
malfunction.

A registry option has been added to remove the disconnect
icon from the popup dialog and/or the disconnect item from the
popup menu.

Several minor improvements have been made to the installer
concerning default hot key selection and license key entry.

Version 1.6

Added support for Windows 8. Changes have been made such that
the popup dialog now displays under the active screen (rather
than always the desktop screen). The installer and installed
executables are now signed.

Several improvements have been made to the launching of the
DUST client to avoid it giving up under long logon times that
can be caused by use of roaming profiles or group policy
enforcement.

Version 1.5.1

Added support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The
only problem was that the popup dialog showed the default
user account picture rather than the appropriate one.

The use administrator privileges for switching option
has been fixed to work for system languages other than
English.

The launching of the DUST client under RemoteApp sessions was
only suppressed for some situations. This has been suppressed
in all cases now.

Version 1.5

Command line support has been added through an additional
console application and rundll32 entry point. This allows
switching to a known user (or the next/previous session) for
custom integration solutions.

Version 1.4

Windows Server 2008 is now supported with the result that the
new, but incompatible, Remote Application sessions are
excluded. Also a registry only option has been added that
allows switching to active sessions as well as the usual
disconnected ones. If you wish to make use of this option
then please contact support for further details.

Various minor changes have been made to improve the robustness
of the software. This includes the following issues against
version 1.3 that have been resolved previously through
configuration changes:

For long logon times the DUST service would fail to start the
client process due to a default timeout of 5 seconds. The
software has been restructured for long timeouts and the
default changed to 30 seconds.

Terminal Services can report itself as running before it is
fully operational such that the DUST service fails during
system start up. DUST now waits for Terminal Services to be
fully operational before continuing.

The use administrator privileges for switching option is
now available for Windows XP versions earlier than SP2.

Version 1.3

Support has been added for Windows Vista and the limitations
against Windows XP Home have been removed.

A new service component has been added to launch DUST against
each logon session. This allows DUST to be given administrator
privileges to combat restrictions with running under Windows
Vista and Windows XP Home. This can be turned off to give the
same behaviour as the previous released version.

An option has been added to use global saved passwords rather
than ones on a per-user basis. Once these have been saved, the
option can be disabled and they will act as fallback passwords
for when there is no specific user one, or it is invalid.

The disconnect rather than lock feature will now report
failures to the event log.

The installer program is now capable of automated silent
installs.

Windows NT4 Terminal Server Edition is no longer supported.

Version 1.2

There is now a control panel applet for hot key and other
configuration options that previously could only have been
changed through the installation program. This allows for
different settings per user, except for password saving if
this has been disallowed via the system default setting.

Add an option to monitor session activity and disconnect a
session rather than allow it to lock out the workstation.

The disconnect icon will appear after (rather than before)
any user icons with an option for before if preferred.

The service that enforces Fast User Switching also prevents
the Offline Files feature from being enabled so the
Group Policy install options have been removed. This should
be adequate for most situations but there may be cases where
it is necessary to manually set up a Group Policy.

Version 1.1

Add an optional taskbar icon, under the notification area,
from which switching can be performed via a left or right
click menu. The menu also has a disconnect item.

Add support for Windows XP computers that are members of a
domain (via an optional registry monitor service).

Better integration into Windows XP through a service that
monitors appropriate registry changes. Using this service
is optional but is required for the classic logon prompt
or if the computer is a domain member. There is also an
install option to block Offline Files such that it can not
be enabled by accident and as a result stop multiple
sessions being created.

Minor changes, mostly within the install program, to make
the functionality more robust.